


Asking

by theironyouth



Series: The Witch and the Warden [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 13:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6425449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theironyouth/pseuds/theironyouth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We had a deal. I save your life, and in return, you leave me be. Why should I answer any of your questions now?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Asking

“I think she’s expecting you.”

Rian peered up toward the Eluvian, watching as Morrigan paced before it. She looked to their group, and he felt his stomach plummet. She had told him that he would never see her again after the battle for Denerim. He hadn’t believed her that night, but she had been true to her word until he had chased her down, and he knew that he was now only looking at her by her own grace. Their last night together, she admitted that she had been lying to him for their time together, but he had convinced himself that she loved him. She had not said goodbye after the battle. Nearly a year had passed, and he was suddenly uncertain that he wanted to face her again, feel her tear herself away from him once more. But her cat-like eyes were on him, and he could feel her gaze eating into him, drawing him towards her. Perhaps she had been right-- love was a weakness.

“Ask her about our book,” the elf prompted. Almost as if having heard the words, Morrigan motioned.

“It’s over there.” Rian motioned in the direction she had as he started up the path towards her. He could hear the elf and the other mage scurry along behind him, but he couldn’t bring himself to be interested. In truth, he only agreed to find the tome as a means to find Morrigan.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Rian’s Mabari bounded ahead of him, loping up the hill with ease. He had expected the beast to jump at Morrigan, but it sat at her feet instead, entire body wiggling in excitement. In another surprise turn of events, Morrigan knelt down, giving the beast an affectionate scratch behind his ears and along his neck. She was smiling. 

“How many monsters of legend am I going to have to kill for you?” Rian asked as he approached. “Your mother, an immortal mage who shapeshifts into a dragon, an archdemon-- and now this varterral. What’s next? The Maker himself?”

Morrigan rose as he approached, frowning as she did so, and crossed her arms over her chest. “No further, please. One more step and I leave. For good this time.”

Rian stopped, resisting the urge to throw out his hands in frustration. She had always called him infuriating. “Hello, Morrigan,” he tried again.

“I assume you know what this is,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder, and Rian gave a half-interested nod. “I went to great lengths to find and activate this portal. Give me reason and I use it, and you will not be able to follow.”

“Then why have you not left?” Rian let out a low sigh. “I didn’t come to fight, Morrigan.”

“I did not think you had. Tell me, why did you come?”

Rian let out a low laugh. “I came for you.” She seemed surprised, but her face set. “Answers?” He tried again. “You were hours pregnant, last I saw you.”

Morrigan’s hand ghosted over her stomach. “We had a deal. I save your life, and in return, you leave me be. Why should I answer any of your questions now?”

Rian wet his lips. He did not want to send her fleeing through the portal, lost to him for another year or longer, but now that he had mentioned their child, he felt his curiosity pique. “What do you have to lose, Morrigan? I found you only because you wanted me to, and wouldn’t hope to take the child from you.”

“Always the charmer.” He wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not, but she continued regardless. “Ask your question then, since you have traveled so far.”

His immediate thought was to ask again if she loved him. “Is our child safe?”

“He is safe, and beyond your reach,” she answered with a curt nod.

“A son?” Rian paused, surprised by her casual admission. He let out a low breath. A son. “Healthy?”

Morrigan’s lips gave a faint upward turn. “A son,” she confirmed, “born without complaint.” She steeled herself again not a moment later. “All you need to know is that the child is an innocent. He knows nothing of the destiny that lies before him.”

Despite himself, despite his promise to Morrigan, Rian felt a spike of panic strike through him. The sensation was unfamiliar to him, panicking for someone else, a child he had never met, but he was still his own. “What is his name?”

“Kieran.”

“What is your plan?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“My plan is to leave, and to prepare the child for what is to come. Such preparation requires time, and power. I must have both if I am to be successful. More than this, I dare not say. Even to you.”

“You betrayed me, Morrigan. I deserve some truth now.”

“Do not speak to me of betrayal.” Her face twisted. “‘Tis true I deceived you. I did not think the battle with the archdemon would come so soon. And when it did, I came to you. I needed you, yes, but I also did not want to see you die. And here you stand, alive.” She paused. “Allow me to provide you a warning. ‘Tis Flemeth you should beware of, not me. Hunt her, if you hunt anyone.”

Rian frowned. “Flemeth is dead.”

“My mother has tricked her way past death and more. She is no more finished than I am.” She paused again, frowning as she stepped towards him. “I thought I knew what Flemeth planned. I thought what she craved was immortality. And yet I was wrong, so very wrong.” She stopped, almost within arm’s reach. “She is no blood mage, no abomination. She is not even truly human. The ritual was but a means to an end, a herald of what is to come.” Even as Morrigan struggled to keep her tone even, Rian could see the fear in her. 

Rian felt panic again, strange and uncomfortable in his stomach. He wanted to reach out to her, to touch her and take her in his arms, but he didn’t dare move. If Flemeth was not dead, then she would certainly be searching for Morrigan, and it was entirely possible that she may have learned of their child and the soul that he carried. “What is going to happen, Morrigan?” He asked, tone urgent.

“Change is coming to the world,” she answered in typical, cryptic fashion, and Rian let out a low, frustrated sound. “Many fear change and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes, change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free.”

Rian tried not to snort at the irony in Morrigan’s words, and looked away from her for a moment, trying to quell the sensation in his belly. “And is that what you want? To be free?” He turned back to her, eyes narrow.

“What I want... Is unimportant now.” She moved back to the Eluvian, and Rian followed.

The mirror’s surface shifted, purple lightning dancing across its surface, setting him on edge. She looked at the portal for a moment before turning back to him. “I cannot tarry longer. The time has come for me to go.”

“Take me with you,” he asked before he could think once again.

Her expression changed to surprised exasperation, but she should have anticipated the request. “You... cannot know what you ask. ‘Twould be better if you stayed. For you, for us both.”

“You say your mother is not yet dead, and it is hard for me to imagine even you managing to keep our son safe on your own. Let me help you, Morrigan. I want to be with you. And I want to meet our son.”

Morrigan hesitated, but he could see the edges of a smile on her face. “Then come, my love. We will face the future together.”

A surge of relief swept through Rian and he stepped closer, cradling her face and pressing a kiss to her lips as he had done so many times before. “I knew you loved me,” he murmured, grin tugging at his lips. She let out a scoff, but didn’t disagree as she pulled away, turning toward the Eluvian. Rian stepped up beside her, hand reaching out to stroke at the mirror’s surface, which gave way at his fingers, rippling out in perfect circles. He looked to her, and she nodded in approval before stepping through. Setting himself, Rian followed, the sensation of stepping through frigid liquid causing him to shiver and close his eyes.

“Rian,” Morrigan said, and he opened his eyes again, squinting lest he find something horrific. Instead what he found was simple-- a vast courtyard with muted colors and an uncountable number of more Eluvians.

“All of them--?”

“No,” she shook her head as she began to walk. “Not all of them can be activated, and quite a few require a key. Keys which have been lost to the ages.”

“Keys you intend to find?”

“Perhaps,” she eyed him cheekily over her shoulder, and Rian rolled his eyes.

She let out a low laugh as she continued, leading him to what appeared to be a small camp, the faintest flicker of silver in the air indicating that she had placed wards. “Please, don’t tell me you left our infant son in this place by himself.”

“My son is not some screaming babe,” she glanced over her shoulder at him. Rian was not convinced, and frowned at her back. The air rippled around Morrigan as she stepped through the barrier, and he reached out again, testing the magic with his fingers before accepting that it would let him through, as well.

Morrigan pulled back the flap of her small tent and turned back to him. Rian frowned, hesitating. She shook the flap with an insistent motion, and a high hiss came from within. It struck him suddenly that she said their son had been born healthy, but that was not to say he had not been twisted by the archdemon’s soul. He steeled himself and stepped forward, but before he could close the distance, a black creature shot out, eight legs carrying it faster than Rian could track in his surprise.

Unable to contain a shriek, Rian snatched at the creature as it crawled up his leg, making it to his abdomen before he could properly grab at its fuzzy body. Its legs flailed, multiple eyes bulging at him, small fangs twitching. “What sort of joke is this?” He demanded, looking to Morrigan who had released the tent flap and was now all but laughing at him. “This is no infant! Tell me he did not--”

Morrigan let out a peal of laughter and motioned for the spiderling. “No, he was not born this way.”

“Change him back.” Disgusted, Rian held it out, and the wriggling monstrosity calmed. 

“Oh, but he does seem to adore you already.” Rian continued to frown at Morrigan until she took the beast from him. She placed the spider on the ground, and made a motion with her hand. Enveloped in a cloud of smoke, Morrigan’s spell was broken, and a fully-clothed toddler was revealed as it cleared. Still, Rian hesitated. “Come meet your son,” she said, sounding almost disapproving of his hesitation.

“Is that safe? Does he know--?” Rian asked, as he stepped closer, peering at the toddler. Two legs, two arms, two dark eyes-- his eyes, but his mother’s shape. It was uncommon for Rian to be in awe. He had killed an archdemon, defeated Flemeth in the shape of a high dragon-- but as he stared at his child, it was with reverence.

“It is as safe for him as it is for me. He is still an infant, and knows little more than the sound of my voice even as a spider, but the shape of a spider allows him to run, should he need to flee. I have met no other travelers here, but I am not fool enough to leave him completely helpless,” Morrigan explained.

Rian crouched, watching as his son stared back at him, taking in his appearance with sad, intelligent eyes. “He looks like you.” He smiled, and Kieran brought a hand to his mouth, sucking on his thumb.

Morrigan scoffed, shifting her weight on her hips. “He is a babe. He looks like no one.”

Rian wiggled his fingers as Kieran continued to stare at him, eventually making a hesitant motion that was almost a wave with his spare hand. Morrigan pulled his thumb from his mouth and made a motion from Kieran to Rian. "This is your father," she said. "Father." Kieran stared up to Morrigan before turning his attention back to Rian, letting out a soft noise.

Kieran continued to stare at his father for a moment longer before holding out a hand. Rian felt his chest swell and he reached out for the boy, feeling tiny digits wrap around his own as he took tiny steps toward him. His smile only grew as he waddled closer, both of his son's hands coming up to grasp as his cheeks, frowning at the new texture of days-old stubble. "Ew," he said, emphatic as his eyes and hands moved to his father's hair, tugging at the loose curls. From his hair, Kieran's hands moved to Rian's jerkin, feeling the stitches and the small armor plates. His hand moved toward the shining hilt of one of Rian's daggers, but he gently pushed his son's hand away. "No, not that one."

"If you teach our son bad habits, I will remove you," Morrigan warned from the side, stoking the fire she had started back into life.

"I would never imagine such a thing." Rian stood, lifting his son with him and carrying him to his mother's side. He seated himself, pulling the child into his lap even as he unbuckled the belt that held his sheaths at his hips, tossing it aside and out of Kieran's reach.

"Your grandmother could be Andraste herself, and I would not let her harm you," Rian said, tousling the boy's delicate hair.

"Do not make promises to the boy that you cannot keep," Morrigan chided. "Come, it is time for his feeding."

At the final word, Kieran perked up, pushing himself away from his father, standing with the least bit of help before he took a few fumbling steps toward his mother, who caught him with an outstretched arm.


End file.
